Monthly Archives: October 2014

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First of all, thank you to all the Iron Jax Walkers that joined us Sunday. It’s a pain to wake up so early in the morning, fight crowds and shuffle around like a herd of zombies, but Kristina and I are so happy you did!

We also want to thank everyone that helped us raise what is likely to be just under $7000 for our team. Officially, we’re at $6364, but that doesn’t include the Super Mex and Rubio’s funds. It is not too late to give! You can click here and donate until 10/31 and those funds will count towards Iron Jax’s 2014 total.

A big thanks to the talented Tim Willey for snapping photos Sunday, of which you’ll see below.

Let’s plan for 2015. Mark your calendar for the second Sunday of October. Hit me up with any fundraising ideas/suggestions/tips. Like marketing? We can use everyone’s help!

This scene is more awesome/cool/rad to me than creepy, but there’s a hint of creep in it, because of the situation this young lass is in. I wish I had abs like Michael.

(T)GIF is a regular Friday feature at Smiling Through Tearz. Know of an animated gif that makes you tinkle with laughter, cry or cringe that you think should be featured at STT? Let me know at seth@smilingthroughtearz.com.

I tried writing a post last year entitled Why We Support CHOC to explain the importance giving back in Jax’s honor is to us. It started like this:

Jaxson died at 9:26 p.m. at Children’s Hospital of Orange County on June 24, 2012. He wasn’t born a preemie or cured for cancer at the hospital, much like many of the participants for Sunday’s CHOC Walk 2013. For about three hours, the hospital staff did everything they could to save our boy. But it was after he left us that the CHOC staff’s grace, compassion and solace left an overwhelming mark on my wife and I. We lost our boy, but it was if they lost him with us.

The rest of it is deeply intimate and I decided against posting it. I tried to figure out a way to make it less intimate, but to me, it loses the impact. Just know that for us, it’s a very meaningful cause that honors Jax’s very special spirit.

At the time of this post, team Iron Jax has raised $4924. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that has donated, raised money and is walking with us on Sunday. Giving lasts until 10/31, so you still have time to donate if you wish.

FOR THE WALKERS ON SUNDAY

Kristina and I are going to the CHOC Foundation offices tonight to pick up wristbands for Walkers we’ve already agreed to pick up for. If you need us to pick yours up, please let one of us know by 5 p.m.

Some of you we’ve already made arrangements about your wristband. For others, we will be at my parents’ house in Orange at 5 p.m. tomorrow night. You can pick up your wristbands there. If you need the address, please email/text/message me on Facebook and I’ll hook you up.

For those of you that will need to either turn in check/cash and/or pick up your wristband yourself, here’s the info:

I went to Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. The one where the Angels lost in extra innings. When a left-handed Royals player slugged a game-winning home run. Um, the second one! Not the 3-2 game (which the same thing happened) but the 4-1 loss.

My friend Sam and I soaked up the parking lot scene under the Big A and they atmosphere and game was great. Until the end.

There’s not a lot I have to say on the Angels getting swept. It’s a huge disappointment and it’s kinda embarrassing. Just remember this: anything can and will happen in the MLB playoffs. Nothing can be taken for granted. Remember the Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series run? They shouldn’t have beaten the New York Mets and Oakland A’s, both far superior teams. But they did, in consecutive series. Anything can and will happen. This doesn’t mean the Angels are a bad team, or that their players choked. Simply, the Royals had better luck in those first two games, the Angels’ bats froze at the worst time of the season and the team that played better in three games (SMALL SAMPLE SIZE!) deserved to advance.

And the sun sets on another Angels season. (So poetic, I know).

Kudos to Kansas City. I’ll be rooting for you in round two.

View from my season seats.

After the game Sam and I soaked up our sorrows with suds at a dive bar in Orange. On the way home I grabbed a box of shame to munch on at home, because I was still hurting at 1 a.m.

Beware, as it’s even more shameful the next day.

As I temporarily filled my aching heart with fatty oils and indigestion, I watched Cinemax’s series The Knick. It’s my favorite show on television. I can’t get enough of Dr. John Thackery’s ego, his genius or his opium den. I sure as hell hope he can find some more cocaine soon.

If Rotten Tomatoes is your thing, then you should be watching this.

Saturday

The CHOC Walk is on Sunday already! Holy crap that came quickly. We are short of our raised funds from 2012 and 2013 for team Iron Jax and can use all the support we can get to approach those figures. If you can walk with us, great! If you can’t and would like to make a donation, please do so! One dollar, five bucks or $33,000, it’s all good! You can view our team page and sign up/make donations at:

My wife worked, so the twins and I drove out to the CHOC Foundation headquarters to take care of some Iron Jax business. Afterwards, we watched Peter Pan, which Gray borrower from my parents so that I could watch it, not him. I told him I hadn’t seen the movie since I was a kid, and he made it a point for me to watch it. Afterwards, we had to sword fight. Which, for Gray and I, is always a friendly, mellow joust.

And then Ellie got involved. She’d prefer to just shred every one to bits.

Sunday

Sam and I hit up another dive bar, this time in Tustin, to catch the start of the Angels’ final game of the season. After actually winning for half an inning following Mike Trout’s home run (and only hit of the series), we watched the Angels poop themselves and left for earlier plans.

Those plans being Knott’s Scary Farm! I haven’t been to Scary Farm in 11 years, so I was excited. I don’t really have anything to add if you’ve been there ever. But here are a few random thoughts, followed by my cheesy pictures, which, if you follow me on Instagram (SethTearz), you could have viewed in real time as I snapped them.

Elvira looks amazing. She’s 63-years-old and looks like she did in 1987. Her Big Top show was entertaining enough. I just wish it had more of her and less of the dance team from Sonora High School.

Go on a Sunday night. We barely waited for any maze or ride. It was fantastic.

The Log Ride is just the regular log ride – not scarified. It’s been spruced up, and is far more interesting than it used to be, but holy crap that was the best platform for Scary Farm. So if you decide to ride, just know this.

(T)GIF is a regular Friday feature at Smiling Through Tearz. Know of an animated gif that makes you tinkle with laughter, cry or cringe that you think should be featured at STT? Let me know at seth@smilingthroughtearz.com.

Once Gray’s story of his girlfriend, Hayley, began to flourish, Ellie felt left out. Not to be excluded, she told us about her boyfriend. He loves to dance. I think that’s all she really likes in him. And for Ellie, that’s all she really needs.

Having seen him, I can tell you he has flowing, brown hair. He has a solid group of friends, a good job and enjoys steak.

Ellie studied his dance moves and now executes them well for a 3-year-old. My parents had him over at their house one night a few months ago, to Ellie’s surprise. When she saw him, she blushed. A smile cemented her face. Here’s a photo of her beau.

Yes, my daughter’s boyfriend is Alex the lion from Madagascar.

I grilled Ellie, trying to find out why she likes him. Is he cute? She shook her head in disgust. Three questions later, with the attitude of a teenager, she told me she didn’t want to talk about it.

Her favorite flick is Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. She asks to watch “Madagascard” as she pronounces it, with a “D” at the end, just about every day. She replies with an “Awwwwwww” that tails towards a higher pitch when I tell her no. In the movie, Alex comes to find his parents. They call him Alekay. It didn’t take long for Ellie to start calling her king of the jungle by the same name.

Ellie’s preschool teacher talked to me about Ellie’s beast-of-a-man yesterday when I dropped the kids off at school.

“She is really into him,” she said with a sprinkle of surprise. Because, after all, it is a cartoon character.

But she is. Really into him.

The teacher lets her students to take home a stuffed animal/friend. The line leader, apparently designated via round robin, gets to pick their friend first. When Jax died, the preschool gave us Trixie, a maroon Triceratops Jax loved. This was his go-to selection from the class room. On Jax’s birthday my mother-in-law presented some stuffed animals as a way to give back to his teacher, who also happens to teach Gray and Ellie, to use in her class. One of which was Alex. The teacher, however, named it Jax. Coincidentally, Alex is Ellie’s favorite thing in the world. And she brings Alex (Jax in the class room) home at least once a week.

Last week she brought home a black dog with brown accents named Bailey instead. Someone else took Alex before she could. It was the girl who has a crush on Grayson. When I asked what happened, Gray said it wasn’t a nice thing to take Alex when Ellie wants him. Ellie genuinely seemed pissed. Not hurt or crying, but mad. Like, if this girl ever finds her own lovable furry friend, Ellie’s going to rip its head off and use it to paint a picture of Alex.

The next day at preschool, the teacher named Ellie the line leader. Alex was back in her grasp.

I’m kinda hoping this Alex the boyfriend thing lasts through high school. Then I won’t have to buy a shotgun.